LA-based artist and graphic designer, Liza Nelson, couldn’t have said it better. On her blog, she said, “Emojis mean everything and they mean nothing at the same time… they are the best thing that ever happened to our generation. They deserve to be observed and worshiped individually.”

So here’s what Liza did, “because somebody had to do it”:

Image Credit: Liza Nelson

Would you recognize any of these real-life emojis if they were to walk past you on the streets?

A Pop Culture Phenomenon

It’s not just Liza who’s in on the way emojis have taken over our lives. Emojis have been featured heavily in pop culture in recent years. Take for example, New York-based Zoe Mendelson, who’s widely acknowledged as the long form emoji story-telling expert. Here’s what she did for Breaking Bad’s mid-season premiere episode ‘Blood Money’:

Image Credit: Zoe MendelsonImage Credit: Zoe MendelsonThis is where a scruffy Walt sneaks back home to retrieve his ricin pill, scaring his neighbour to death as a result. (Image Credit: Zoe Mendelson)

Or how about Katy Perry, who emoji-ed her way through an innovative music video for her song ‘Roar’?

There’s even a messaging app called Emojli that challenges you to speak to your friends in Emojis. Only Emojis.

Image Credit: Daily Mail

If you haven’t heard, 250 new emojis are coming our way soon (yay!). The new emoji I’m most looking forward to is what is very politely termed the ‘reversed hand with middle finger extended’.